Bent Eight: 1950's Edward
by Leizu
Summary: What did Edward do before Bella? Originally written for  but never submitted to  the Age of Edward contest.
1. February 14th, 1950

1950

_February 14th_

Edward was sat next to a large window with stained glass adorning the top, gazing sightlessly out of it. He looked across the lawn, at Esme happily pruning a rosebush, with Carlisle watching her. Edward sighed, and threw the book he'd been holding roughly onto the topmost nesting table in front of him. He glanced briefly at the title, unaware as he had been as to what he'd been pretending to read. _Nineteen Eighty-Four_ gazed back at him. He scoffed. _Big Brother_ indeed. People would never allow anyone to watch their every move.

He knew today was going to be difficult. Valentine's Day had been hard for him every year (being the only unattached one in a house full of happy couples), and this year didn't stand to be any different. Watching Carlisle and Esme made it a little harder- the adoration etched clearly across his features was actually a little painful to watch. It highlighted an intense loneliness that he'd felt almost from the moment that Carlisle had found Esme. Carlisle had hoped it would get better once he brought Rosalie in to the family- he'd been wrong. She hadn't exactly made things worse, but once she found Emmett the loneliness returned with vigour. He wondered vaguely where the two of them were. He'd been trying desperately to block out their thoughts (disgusting as they could be) and he was not about to start listening in again now. He walked out of the library to hear Rosalie singing her way down the stairs.

"I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair, I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair, I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair and send him on his way…" Edward closed his eyes in exasperation. He was never, ever going to forgive Rogers or Hammerstein for that particular song. Emmett was trailing behind her. Edward smirked at the murderous expression on his face. He waited for Rosalie to be out of earshot, and then went over to Edward.

"Carlisle wouldn't mind if we killed the _idiots_ that wrote that song, right? He has _got _to be as sick of it now as we are. He'd forgive us, I know it…" Emmett's mind was shouting- plotting the "accidental" murders of the two songwriters. Edward laughed.

"Tempting. Very tempting. However, you're forgetting one crucial detail- she already knows the song. Nothing we can do will change that." Emmett opened his mouth and closed it a few times, then sighed and pouted slightly in defeat. Edward laughed again, his mood lightened a little.

He followed the two of them downstairs, trying to think of something to do. Almost automatically, he drifted over to their white baby-grand piano in the parlour. He eyed it with the barest hint of distaste. He would never let Esme know he didn't like it, however he found it an eyesore. He couldn't imagine anybody actually _wanting_ a white piano. The pitch was perfect, of course- it was a Steinway, after all- but the colour was truly ghastly. She'd had Carlisle call in a favour to get a white model made specifically for their house (moreover, specifically for Edward), so he daren't tell her. The sound was the important part anyway, even if the instrument itself was garish. He opened up the (matching) stool and withdrew some yellowing, handwritten leaves of paper. Looking at the slight disintegration of the paper, Edward thought that perhaps now was the time to search for a printed copy.

This particular piece was a favourite of his (the first of Chopin's Nocturnes) and of Carlisle's. He'd worked as a doctor in Paris from 1838 to around 1845; and towards the end had taken care of an ailing Chopin. Chopin could not afford to pay him, so Carlisle had accepted instead a handwritten copy of the opus 9 Nocturnes. Carlisle himself didn't play, but he could not allow the composer to die, and he would not allow Carlisle to treat him without payment. Edward rolled his eyes. Carlisle had met a great number of famous people during his time, and Edward couldn't help but feel extremely envious.

He spread the music out- not that he needed it, but it felt right having it there all the same- and sat down to play. Concentrating though he was on the sound of the music filling the room, he heard Esme's ecstatic thoughts drift in from the garden. She loved to hear him play. He'd been working on a composition to dedicate to her and Carlisle, but he wanted to practice when neither was around- and this was not at all often.

He finished the piece happily, in the best mood he had been for weeks. He gathered up the music and put it in the stool, and was just wondering about what to play next when Rosalie and Emmett walked past the doorway on their way upstairs.

"If a man don't understand you, if you fly on separate beams, waste no time…" Edward rolled his eyes, his mood sour again- not just because Rosalie reminded him of that irritating tune, but because he heard the tone of Emmett's thoughts and concluded he wanted to get out of the house, immediately.

He walked briskly out into the garden and was confronted with the image of Esme and Carlisle kissing passionately. Moving as silently as he could, he left the garden and headed for the street, unsure of where he wanted to go, but knowing almost anywhere was better than where he'd just left. He sighed. His intense dislike of Valentine's Day was bubbling inside him. That, and Rogers and Hammerstein were very good at writing songs you couldn't get out of your head, no matter how hard you tried.


	2. April 27th, 1950

_April 27__th__, 10:48 p.m._

Edward and Emmett were out hunting. Harriman State Park was the closest place with sufficient wildlife, but was far enough away that Edward could show off the Rolls-Royce Phantom III that he'd maintained and cherished since he'd purchased it in 1936 (he kept hold of it, Emmett thought, to show off- each one was unique as the body was designed by an independent coachbuilder, and Edward had designed his own). Although now rather old, it could still manage a top speed of just over a hundred miles an hour. Deuce Coupes struggled to match it (Rosalie proved this by insisting on a race), as did even the newest and finest tuned Lincoln Continentals (this was demonstrated by Emmett, who lost by quite a long way). Emmett hated to admit it, but he was impressed by this car. He sulked most of the way home, partly due to the memory of watching Edward sailing off towards the finish line with no hope of catching up (Edward had brought it up as often as possible, and it had grown tiresome), and partly because Edward wouldn't let him break in to a zoo to wrestle a bear. He folded his arms and slumped in his seat, petulant as ever. Edward smirked.

"Cheer up. You know it would have been monumentally stupid to break in to a zoo. And Rosalie finally stopped singing that fucking song!" Emmett scowled in response.

"Yeah, she did. Because I took her to see Cinderella. At least the other song had real words." Edward frowned, feigning puzzlement.

"They _are_ real words." Emmett shot him a dark look.

"No they aren't! When have you heard the words 'salagadoola mechika boola bibiddy-bobbidy-boo', ever?"

"Well, in the film, for starters…anyway, any word is a word. If it's not in the dictionary and was made up by a specific person it's a neologism."

Emmett blinked rapidly. He was most likely trying to think of a witty yet insulting response, and failed completely. He went back to his sulking with more determination.

They drove along in what would have been an awkward silence if it weren't for Edward's lack of caring for why Emmett was being so childish. He would occasionally glance over at his adoptive brother, wondering when his inherently positive nature would kick in and he'd give up, but he saw no signs of caving in. Edward gave him a couple more minutes to repent, then decided to rub salt in the wound.

"Your car _is_ a good car. The Continental is a great car, and the adjustments made to yours are really effective ones."

Emmett shifted up a little, clearly brightening up a fraction. Biting back a grin, Edward added:

"Just a shame your girlfriend had to do it for you."

Edward managed to maintain control of the car as Emmett swiped at him, both of them laughing.

_11:36 pm_

Edward pulled his car into the driveway, the smile vanishing from his face. He heard two new minds in the house. With his family. He scanned the thoughts in the vicinity, and was extremely perplexed at what he found.

His family were completely fine with the presence of these two strangers. Esme was looking at blueprints (various houses she was moving them to that had more space), Carlisle helping them move furniture around, and Rosalie worrying about herself for a change. She was worried that Emmett might prefer this new girl- although was sure her partner would have something to say about it.

Joy of all joys. Another couple. The female of the two was gazing lovingly into her partner's eyes, and he was reciprocating soppily. He saw in the female's head something extremely odd- himself, walking up the stairs, looking pissed off, wearing the exact suit he was wearing at that moment in time. She'd never seen him in real life- how could she know what he looked like?

"Ooh, Jasper, Edward and Emmett are here!" the female said, excited. The one named Jasper seemed tense.

Edward finally got a good look at the room they were in- and recognised it well. He also recognised some of the furniture that was his still dotted about the room. Finding Carlisle's thoughts, he heard that his own things were now situated in the garage. Now he didn't even have his own space.

"Great," Edward mumbled to himself, "just great. Another happy couple…and they get my room because I am not one half of a different happy couple. Perfect." Emmett stared at him in alarm, and charged into the house.

Edward found himself doing exactly what he'd seen himself doing in the female's head. He stormed towards what he was now learning was not his room anymore, and walked in.

Framed in the doorway, he saw with his own eyes the first time the two newcomers. He had his arms out a little, palms upturned, hoping for an explanation as to why he had been displaced. The female was excited, she practically bounced around in happiness. The male was still tense, shifting as though he expected an attack. For a split second, Edward thought this odd; but then the little one bounced towards him- he reacted instinctively, crouching into a defensive stance. Her face fell a little, but then she brightened up.

"Of course, Edward! You have never seen us before, and we stole your bedroom. I apologise. I'm Alice, and this is Jasper. But you know that already, don't you?" Edward blinked. What the...?

"Um. What? Who are you? How did you get...?" He saw in Carlisle's head the way they had arrived with a complete knowledge of the family, their names, personalities, habits- and had declared that they knew this because the little one had visions of the future. They got his bedroom because the female wrapped the entire family around her tiny fingers in mere seconds. Well, Edward decided he would not be so easily influenced.

"I'm guessing you're reading the others' thoughts right now; well, just in case it's not clear, we'll explain ourselves. As I said, I'm Alice-"

"Yes, I got that much. Skip to the part where you get my bedroom and half of my furniture." Alice shrugged.

"Your room has the best view." He heard the truth of this in her thoughts. She was matter-of-fact in her declaration- she didn't see it as stealing; merely acquiring things she wanted. Edward laughed out loud at her audacity.

"Why are you even here?" Alice opened her mouth to speak, when Jasper interrupted.

"Instead of repeating what we've already said, why don't we show you? If you can, in fact, read minds it will be much faster- and probably more convincing- if Alice just thinks our explanation."

Edward was about to argue it out- thoughts can lie; but then again, thoughts are just as reliable as speech- when Alice nodded and ran through everything very quickly.

He understood. She could, indeed, see the future- thus explaining seeing him walk up the stairs- and had been seeing visions of the Cullens since she and Jasper decided to change their lifestyles.

She was gifted. Jasper, too- they were both talented in the same way he was. He was...overjoyed. Although they were another happy couple, they were more kindred spirits than the rest of the family. It wasn't that he didn't love them; they just couldn't understand what it was like to be "different" among those already abnormal.

She continued with more detail; showing how close the two of them would become, truly demonstrating her affection for him. Already, she considered him a brother. Despite himself, Edward smiled a little. He'd grown to feel that way about Rosalie, but it had taken a while- she wasn't the easiest person to live with- but with Alice he could see that it would be almost instantaneous, easy- and natural, above all else.

So much for not allowing her to influence him.


End file.
